Assigko b



F., E. BERTRAND.

Feb. 19, 1924.

SOLE MOLDING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 26 1918 Pet). 19 1924.

, Fi 1ed March 26, 1918 F. E. BERTRAND SOLE MOLDING I JACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb, 19, "5.934.

FREDEFLIO E. BERTHAND, 01 LYNN, MAf-SElACI'lIUEEIWlJS, E00 UNlITE-D $I-IUE ftliiflr- GLIINEREZ' CORPORATIUN, 611 3 IAT'EPJSUN, JERMEY, CfilltlE'UlM-ETLEUN 0]? NEW JERSEY.

SOLE-JREOLDING nr'ncr-irnn.

To (All whom it may concern Be it known that I, FREBERIO E. Buntrmnn, s citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, lnwe invented certain new and useful improvements in holeldoldinp; Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it s-ppertains to inn-lie and use the some.

This invention. relates to machines for operating on soles for use the manufacture of boots and shoes ond more particularly to such machines for molding; or bending; the marginal portion of soles at an angle to the body portion of the sole.

In preparing itunn shoe-soles for the lasting and sewing operation it is customary to mold the feather of the sole-st an anode with the :body portion in order to facilitate the sewing operation. This sole moldmgoperm tion is usually performed by a machine having a plurality ofsole engaging rolls.

The object of the present invention is to improve the structure arrangement and i'node of oneretion of machines of .the type referred to; To the vaccomplishment 0f this object, one feature of the invention relates V particulsrly to the shape, reletion and mode of operation of the sole engaging devices. Another feature relates to the means for controlling the speed of operation of the .machiue, between certain predoteiunined limits, whereby the operator may vary the speed. by which the sole is fed. By reason of this construction the greatest speed consistent with good workmanship may be em; ployed on all. portions of the sole.

These and such other features of the invention as may hereinafter appear, wvilltbest be understood. from the following description taken in connection with the sccoinpanying drawings illustrating the preferred form of the invention, in which:

Figure 1 is s side elevation of the machine, the lower part of the column beingbroken Fig. 2 is a detail View, from below, showing the feed roll and the edgge Fig. 3 is aplen view of the machine,

Fig. this a section on the line li of :1 showing the dniving-dish and yoke sssociated therewith for mointaining the friction drive members 1n operative relation, and

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of l a rounded frusto-conicel or acorn roll 10 (Fi 1) which engages the grain side of the feather and supports the sole and the other being it corrugated cylindrical feed roll 12 which engages the flesh side of the feather. The scorn roll 10 is formed on the upper end of a shaft 14L mounted in o bracket 16 secured to the machine frame 18 by cap screws 20. The shaft 14 is driven through a skew gear 22 which meshes with a similar gear 24 fastened on one end of .a shaft 26 the other end of which is provided with a skew gear 28 which is vdriven by a gesr 80. The feed roll 12 is driven from the shaft 14 throughs bevel gear32 fixed on the shaft 14 end meshing with e gear 3% on a shaft 36 carrying the feed roll. In order that the two feather engaging rolls may accommodate themselves to variations in the thickness of the work, the feed roll is movable with relation to the scorn roll 10. To this end the feed roll shaft 36 is mounted in van arm 38 pivotally mounted on u stud 10 carried by the machine frame 18. The location of the pivotal gpointof the .erm 38, that is, the Stud 40, is in e plane perpendicular to the common element of the beyels 32 end 3 1, so that when the feed roll is raised by the increased thichness of the work the bevel gear .34 is moved substantially in the line of the length of the gear teeth intermeshing; at the time with the 32. this construction the separa-tioniof the feather engaging rolls does noteifect their continued rotation as the gears always remain in mesh. The biting surfaces of the rolls 10 end 12 are arranged to :contact with each other along a tangent lying between the ,a-Xes of the shafts 14:,a11d36. Thisensbles esole passing through the rolls to be rolled between them without ,any great, amount of sliding relatively ,to either roll, and prevents erretic jerks :on the ,part of the sole as it moves along. The arm is pressed downwardly to cause the feed :roll to grip and feed the work by s spring 42 which acts upon one end of a lever 44 pivoted on a stud 46. The other end of the lever 44: is recessed to receive one end of a pin 4.8, the other end of which is seated in a similar recess in the feed roll arm 38 as clearly shown in Fig. 5. The tension of the spring 4-2 may be adjusted by the use of a suitable a'butment screw connecting the spring and the lever. In order that the feed roll may be positively lifted for the insertion and removal of work, the arm 38 is provided with a rearward extension 52 which isconnected, by a rod 54, with a suitable treadle (not shown).

The molding effect upon the sole is ob tained by causing the body of the sole to assume a position in a plane at an angle to the feather as positioned between the rolls 10 and 12. The body of the sole is bent downwardly and broken over the upper edge of the acorn roll 10 by a presser roll 56 which is carried by a shaft 58 loosely mounted in the. end of an arm 60 also pivoted upon the stud 4:0. The presser roll is pressed downwardly by a sprlng acting through a lever 62 (Figs. 3 and 5) and pin 64: similar to the spring 42 and its connections which act on the arm 38. As shown in Fig. 5, the pin 48 passes through a hole in the arm 60 so that the presser roll and feed roll are independently movable.

It is desirable that the presser roll shall be lifted simultaneously with the feed roll to permit the insertion and removal of Work. This is accomplished by providing the presser roll arm 60 with a lug 66 (Figs. 1 and 5) which is engaged by the feed roll arm 38 when it is raised by the action of the treadle as described.v Thus the presser roll is lifted by the feed roll arm.

The position of the feed roll 12 with relation to the acorn roll 10 is determined by the thickness of the work therebetween while the machine is in operation. In order that the feed and acorn rolls may not strike when there is no work in the machine, the feed roll arm 38 is provided with a lug 68 which engages the machine frame at that time and keeps the two rolls separated by a distance slightlyless than the minimum thickness of the work.

The point at which the break of the feather is to-be located should be opposite the shoulder on the flesh side of the sole. In order that the line of break may be positively determined, an edge gage 70 is secured to the feed roll arm 38 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The edge gage is adjustable in the line of the axis of the feed roll by means of the cap screw 72 which passes through a slot in the shank of the edge gage and is threaded into the arm. As will be apparent from an inspection of Fig. 2 the edge gage 70 is positioned on the center line connecting the acorn and feed rolls, that is, at the bite of the rolls, so that when the sole is turned, as at the point of the toe, the turning movement is not hampered by reason of the sole being forced against the edge gage as would be the case if the edge gage were positioned in advance of the bite of the rolls. The facility with which the sole may be manipulated at the curves is further increased by the arrangement of the feed and acorn rolls which grip the feather only and thus allow the sole to be turned about an axis substantially at the point of contact of the sole with the edge gage.

Variation in the angle of the molded feather is obtained by adjusting the angle of the body portion of the sole with relation to the position of the feather engaged between the feed and acorn roles. This is accomplished by a vertical adjustment of the presser roll thereby allowing the sole to occupy a position at an angle to the position shown in Fig. 1, the point of the break re maining constant, however, over the edge of the acorn roll 10. As shown in Figure 1 the maximum angle is being molded on the feather in which case the presser roll is pressing the sole against the top of the acorn roll 10. With the machine in this adjustment the sole moves substantially in a horizontal plane, and is guided very easily by the operator. When it is desired to mold a lesser angle, the presser roll is lifted by turning a cap screw 74, threaded into the arm 60, until it bears upon the machine frame and elevates the presser roll arm 60 to the desired extent.

The feature of this invention relating to a variable speed contemplates the provision of a friction drive having means under control of the operator whereby the speed of the work feed may be varied, in accordance with the characteristics of the portion of the sole being operated upon. This feature of the invention also contemplates the provision of a friction drive of novel construction in which all waste of energy in side or end thrust is obviated. In the illustriu'ed embodiment of the invention the skew gear 36 which drives the rolls 16 and 12, is mounted on a shaft 76 and constrained to rotate therewith by a key engaging a spline 78 in the shaft. The gear 30 is held in operative relation with the gear 28 by bearings 80--80 which may be integral with the machine frame 18 and which support the shaft 76. The shaft 76 is driven by a friction roll 82 secured thereto and having opposite points on its periphery engaged by a driving disk 84 on one side and an equalizing disk 86 on the other. The driving disk is keyed to rotate with but free to slide upon a driving shaft 88 mounted in a bearing 90 secured to the machine frame. The shaft 88 is provided with the usual tight and loose pulleys 92 and 94 for the application of power. The equalizing disk 86 is similar to the driving Cir disk 84 but this disk is rigidly secured to a" short shaft 96 in axial alinement with the shaft 88, mounted in a bearing" in the machine frame and having provision for a slight axial play;

In order that the pressure necessary to socure a driving engagen'ient between the disk 8 1 and the driven roll 82 may not result in a side thrust upon the shaft 76, which is highly undesirable, the driving disk and the equalizing disk are arranged to exert equal pressures but in opposite directions upon the roll 82. For this purpose each of the disks 84c and 86 isprovided with a yoke 98 shown particularly in Fig. 4-. Each yoke is pivotally mounted at one end on stud 100 in the machine frame. The free ends of the yokes are connected by a spring 102 and tension adjusting studs 104:. Each yoke is provided with a pair of rolls 106 which bear upon the back of its adjacent disk. This construction obviously forces the two disks upon the roll 82 with. equal pressure, hence eliminating side thrust upon the shaft 76 when it is driven by the rotation of the disk 84. A cover 107 (Fig. 3) is provided for the opening in the machine frame 18 to enclose the entire driving mechanism.

Variations in the speed with which the work is fed is obtained by sliding the roll 82 toward or from the axis of the driving disk. As the roll 82 is rigidly mounted on the shaft 76 this axial movement of the roll is conveniently produced by treadle connections with the lower end of the shaft through which it may be moved axially; As shown in Fig. 1 the lower end of the shaft 76 is turned down to receive a spool 107 secured thereon by a nut 108 and embraced by a forked arm 110 carried by a stud 112 pivotally mounted on the machine frame. The stud 112 also carries an arm 11 1 which is connected by a rod 118 with a treadle (not shown) by which. the operator may move the shaft 76.

' In order that maximum and minimum speec s may both be adjusted to the greatest speed which any particular operative is capable of using, adjustable stops are provided to limit the movement of the roll 82 toward and from the periphery of the driving disk. The stud 112 has rigidly secured thereto a lever 118 provided at each side of the stud with a stop screw 120. It is apparent that one of the stop screws will strike the machine frame and limit the movement of the shaft 76 in either direction. The roll 82 is normally held in its highest speed position by a spring 122 surrounding a rod 124 pivoted on the end of the lever 118 and having a hearing at one end against the inside of the machine frame and at the other against a hand nut 126 threaded on to the rod. The parts are thus held in the position shown in Fig. 1 except when the operator depresses the treadle. By adjusting the stop s rows 120 the high speed may be determined by the highest speed with which the operator can handle the sole on the relatively straight positions of its periphery, while the low speed may be determined by the highest speed with which the operator can. handle thesole on themost di'llicult portion, usually thetoe. Any speed between these limits may be had by varying the pressure upon the treadle thus permitting the operator to work at its highest speed on all parts oi the sole.

vVhile it is preferred to employ the spocific construction and arrangeniout oi rmrts shown and described, it will be understood that this construction and arrangement is not essential except so far as is specified in the claims, and may be cl'ianged or modified without departing from the broader features of the invention.

lVhat is claimed as new, is

1. A sole molding machine having, in combination, a roll arranged. to engage the grain side of the feather, a second roll arranged to engage the flesh side of the feather, said rolls being arranged to rotate about nonparallel axes and having opposed surfaces cooperating to feed the sole, said surfaces being arranged to contact with the sole along a line lying between the two nonparallel to facilitate the feeding of the sole between them by a rolling movement without substantial sliding between the sole and the rolls, and a presser roll movable independently of the feed roll to bend the body of the solo at an angle to that portion engaged by said rolls.

2. A sole molding machine having, in combination, a roll to engage the grain side of the feather, a roll to engage the flesl side of the feather, an independently n'iounted presser roll to bend the sole over the first named roll, and a common means for moving the bending roll and the roll for engaging the flesh side of the feather away from the other roll.

3.11 sole molding machine having, in combination, a roll to ei'igage the grain side of the feather, a feed roll to engage the flesh side of the feather, means for holding the feed roll yieldingly toward the first named roll, a presser roll movable independently of the feed roll to break the sole over the end of the roll on the grain side of the sole, and means for holding the presser roll yieldingly toward said roll.

1.11 sole molding machine having, in combination. a positively driven roll to engage one side of the work, a gear rotatable with the roll, a second roll to engage the other side of the work, a gear meshing with the first gear to drive the second roll, and means for moving one of said gears and rolls substantially in the line of the length of the engaged gear teeth to vary the relation between the rolls.

5. A sole molding machine having, in combination, a supporting roll to engage the grain side of the feather, a feed roll to engage the flesh side of the feather, and an independently mounted presser roll having its peripheral surface engaging the flesh side of the sole to break the sole over the end of said supporting roll.

6. A sole molding machine having, in combination, a supporting roll to engage the grain side of the feather, a feed roll to engage the flesh side of the feather, a press er roll having its peripheral surface en- -gaging the flesh side of the sole to break the sole over the end of the supporting roll, and means to adjust the relative position of the presser roll and the feed and supporting rolls to vary the angle imparted to the feather.

7. A sole molding machine having, in, combination, a supporting roll, a movable feed roll, an independently mounted presser roll, and means for moving the presser roll away from the supporting roll controlled by a movement of said feed roll away from said supporting roll.

8. A sole molding machine having Work engaging instrumentalities consisting of three independently mounted rolls, tWo of which grip and feed the feather therebetween and the third of which engages the body of the sole, and an edge gage mounted between the work engaging surfaces of the feather engaging rolls.

9. A sole molding machine having, in combination, a rigidly mounted roll to engage one side of the feather, an arm carrying a feed roll mounted at an angle to the first named roll to engage the other side of the feather, an edge gage adjustably secured to the arm, a second arm carrying a freely rotatable bending roll to engage the body of the sole, gear connections between the first named roll and the feed roll, a common pivot for the two arms located substantially on a line at right angles to the engaged gear teeth, independent means for holding the feed roll and the bending roll yieldingly toward the work, and a single means for moving the feed roll and bending roll away from the work.

10. A sole molding machine having, in combination, a roll engaging the flesh side of the feather of the sole, a roll engaging the grain side of the feather, a presser roll engaging the body of the sole to mold the sole over the roll engaging the grain side of the feather, and means for simultaneously moving the presser roll and the roll engaging the fiesh side of the feather from the other roll.

11. A sole molding machine having, in combination, work engaging instrumentalities comprising three independently mounted rolls, two of which grip and feed the feather therebetween and the third of which engages the body of the sole, the roll engaging the flesh side of the feather movable rela tively to the other feather engaging roll, and an edge gage for the sole movable with said movable roll.

12. A sole molding machine having. in combination, a feed roll engaging the flesh side of the feather, a supporting roll engaging the grain side of the feather, the said rolls being arranged to rotate upon intersecting non-parallel axes and having their biting surfaces arranged substantially upon cones of revolution constructed upon the said axes, and a presser roll engaging the body of the sole for bending the sole over the supporting roll, said rolls arranged to cause the body of the sole to be positioned in a horizontal plane at the completion of the molding operation.

FREDERIC E. BERTRAND. 

